many users simply don't care enough or don't even know that they can and should elect
If you want people to be rational, expect them to prioritise. Many users have low HP. Caring enough for their stake translates to dedicating a couple of seconds monthly. Noone wants those to vote randomly. IMO, they are the ones who actually exhibit rationality by abstaining (compared to your POV).
The politicians asking you to come to general elections are generally aware of that. Obviously, they cannot dissent in public (even if they believe low turnout improves their results).
One big governance problem (not just in blockchains) is voter turnout
The biggest governance problem IRL is the long interval in between elections. That means you need big turnout to ensure quality results in every single election. The interval in between Hive elections is three seconds so any revolutionary situation that incentivises users to care gets an instant feedback (as the turnout raises temporarily).